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31 August, 2009

Your Daily Dose of Health Care Reform Stupidity

Texas Republican Pete Olson probably figured he could get away with using a young child as a propaganda tool at a recent town hall meeting -- but he was in for a big surprise.

Republican Congressman Olson (R-TX) tells the townhall about a mother who was turned away by the free market doctors for her unborn child's heart defect. She was denied by the free market doctors but persisted and was able to find a specialized doctor and got a very delicate operation and a heart transplant 17 days after he was born. Olson then claims that the public option would have denied him the needed health care and he would have died! After being challenged he abruptly ended the discussion. Watch as he is challenged, and clueless as to what to say.

As Olson spews out his talking points, people in the crowd repeatedly point out to him that it wasn't the government who turned this poor child away, it was the insurance companies. Olson was absolutely gobsmacked when people started calling him out on his obvious gaffe as he stood there looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

The latest right-wing meme attempts to answer the WWTD (What Would Teddy Do?) question by claiming he'd compromise the cause of his life away - a trope easily debunked, but you know how they react when caught out in a lie: they lie harder. Orrin Hatch is the latest to spout that bullshit. Jed Lewison, who as a staffer to Sen. Maria Cantwell got to see Kennedy in action, takes it down hardcore. Shove that reality in the faces of all who try to claim Kennedy was the Great Compromiser.

Let's recap: the United States spends about twice as much on healthcare as any other developed nation in the world and in return receives just about the worst care. Can someone remind me again why there's even a debate about whether we should put up with this?